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Leading from the middle

Leading from the middle. Influencing Up, Down, and Sideways. Myths about Leadership ( from Meg Wheatley). Leaders have all the answers.

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Leading from the middle

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  1. Leading from the middle Influencing Up, Down, and Sideways

  2. Myths about Leadership(from Meg Wheatley) Leaders have all the answers. “As a leader you can’t possibly know enough, or be in enough places, to understand everything happening inside – and more importantly outside – your organization. –Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Leader to Leader Institute

  3. Myths about Leadership(from Meg Wheatley) Speed = productivity

  4. Myths about Leadership(from Meg Wheatley) Action = progress

  5. Myths about Leadership(from Meg Wheatley) Numbers describe reality • evidence-based decision making? OR • decision-based evidence making?

  6. Leading from the middle • A different way of thinking about collaborative leadership • Leading as a peer, not a superior • Requires persuasion, technical competence, relationship skills, and political smarts to get and keep a group together and produce the desired outcome • Influencing others to accomplish things that none of them could accomplish – at all or as well - individually.

  7. Three understandings that are integral to leading from the middle • Leadership is relationship • Leadership is everyone’s business • Leadership development is self-development (Modified from Kouzes& Posner, 2003, p. 47)

  8. understanding 1: Leadership is relationship • It’s not about position or fame or fortune. It’s about working and learning with people whose experience, education, gender, and professional affiliation all differ. • In our work with young children and families, effective leaders can touch each and every life through relationships. By enhancing colleague-colleague, supervisor-practitionerrelationships, practitioner-family relationships will be enhanced. These relationships, in turn, strengthen family-childrelationships.

  9. When you lead from the middle, you • Ask “what’s possible?” instead of “what’s wrong?” • Then ask “who cares?”

  10. Understanding 2: Leadership is everyone’s business • Leadership is collaborative. • You don’t have to be in a position of power or prestige to be an effective leader or change agent. Anyone can make a difference.

  11. Collaboration

  12. Together, We Really Are Better Research underscores that “cooperative learning promotes higher individual achievement than do competitive approaches or individualistic ones.” (Johnson, Johnson, & Smith, 1998, p. 31)

  13. When you lead from the middle, you See diversity as an asset, not a problem • Nobody can see a problem from all perspectives • Ask: Who else’s perspective would help us to understand this issue? • Remember: People support what they create, so engage others in the final result

  14. Understanding 3: Leadershipdevelopment is self-development A leader’s primary instrument is him or herself. To develop others, we have to develop ourselves.

  15. Lead from the Middle by Honingthe Tools of Influence • Demonstrate • Ask • Share • Clarify • Challenge

  16. To lead from the middle, you need to • Choose your attitude • Be present • Remember why we do our work

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